Yes, lowering the bar... in the classroom and/or on standardized tests may be a contributing factor in the larger-than-may-be-expected number of children testing above grade level (15%-45%). Regardless the reason, there exist a number of kiddos for whom standard curriculum is a disservice. These are kids who need "more" in order to learn something new every day.
Solution: ability grouping, with what would have been standard pacing 40 years ago for the middle group, slower pacing for the lower group, faster pacing with more depth for the bright kids, and special ed for the two tails, which may include magnet schools for gifted kids, which themselves would have ability grouping.
Ah, but the grade skipping article is focused on those students who are performing above grade level.
But remember, the bar may be set at an artificially low level.
A lot of problems contribute to poor scholastic outcomes in this country, and many can't be addressed by schools. But schools can control what they teach, how they teach it, and the pace they move at. Most schools seem to resist ability grouping these days. I figure that high stakes testing plays a role here. There are no bonus points for kids who can work past what the test requires, yet there are huge punishments for low scores. In terms of the system, schools are being completely rational when they ignore above-average and gifted kids.
We need a new (old?) way of looking at education. A simplistic fix would be to provide some kind of bonus for very high test scores. But of course, that would just be gamed, and it wouldn't fix the underlying problem. So we need a substantially different way of viewing education --- something that treats it as a way of developing the mind rather than as a process for generating test scores (guess I'm pretty cynical). This exists in isolated schools, but I doubt it's going to happen on a large scale anytime soon, barring a big scary threat like Sputnik.
In the meantime, very intelligent parents will continue to teach their kids at home and/or send them to private schools. What other choice is there? Nine months of bubble test preparation doesn't cut it.
